AS Level Psychology · Jean PIAGET and his theory • Samuel & Bryant criticized Piaget • they...
Transcript of AS Level Psychology · Jean PIAGET and his theory • Samuel & Bryant criticized Piaget • they...
AS Level Psychology
The Core Studies
The developmental approach
Developmental Psychology
• The Topic - Cognitive development
• The authors
• Samuel J & Bryant P (1984)
Samuel J & Bryant P (1984)
• Can young children
CONSERVE or does
asking the same question
twice cause them to fail?
Jean PIAGET and his theory
Children’s thought processes are QUALITATIVELY
different to adult thought processes
Jean PIAGET
• Piaget is the most famous writer on children’s
cognitive development
• Piaget studied his own children and their friends
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Piaget proposed a maturational theory of
cognitive development
• NATURE not NURTURE
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• cognitive development:
• the transformation of initial inborn schema by the
twin processes of
• Assimilation = practise
• Accommodation = modification
Jean PIAGET and his theory
Cognitive development takes place through FOUR fixed age related stages
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 1- the sensorimotor stage
• birth to 2 years
• child learns from interaction with environment
• only at about 6 months does OBJECT
permanence occur
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• 2 to 7 years
• Child is egocentric - unable to understand the
world from another’s perspective
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Example of egocentric child
• Three mountains task
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• In preoperational stage child cannot conserve
• What does CONSERVE mean?
• Children can CONSERVE when they understand
that quantity does not change when appearance
changes
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• classical conservation test stage 1
RRRRRRR
RRRRRRR
• are there the same number of counters in each
row?
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• classical conservation test stage 2
RRRRRR
R R R R R R
• are there the same number of counters in each
row?
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• conservation test
RRRRRR
R R R R R R
• the child who says NO cannot conserve
number
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• conservation of mass
• 2 rolls of plasticine - is there the same amount in
each?
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• roll one out while child watches
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• still the same amount in each?
the child who says NO is unable
to conserve MASS
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• conservation of volume
• 2 containers of liquid - same amount
in A as in B?
A BBB
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• Watch while pour B into C
• Same amount in A as in C?
A B C
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 2 - pre-operational stage
• same amount in A as in C?
• the child who says NO unable to conserve
VOLUME
A B
C
Jean PIAGET and his theory
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• According to Piaget - in all these cases the
child can only take into consideration ONE
aspect of the physical world at a time (what it
looks like)
• THUS if it LOOKS different it MUST BE different!
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 3 -
• CONCRETE operational stage
• 7 - approx 11 years
• child now able to conserve and can perform quite
complex operations
• but only if ‘real’ objects are ‘at hand’
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• the child cannot perform mental operations
(transformations)
• If Bill is taller than Jim and shorter than John
who is the tallest?
• Without real figures to manipulate the child
cannot answer
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• If Bill is taller than Jim and shorter than John who is the
tallest?
• BILL JIM JOHN
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Stage 4
• Aged 11+ ‘Formal Operations’
• is this where the 11+ came from!
• The child can now perform logical operations and
abstract reasoning
• According to Piaget not all achieve the stage
of FORMAL OPERATIONS
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• Samuel & Bryant criticized Piaget
• they did not agree that young children were unable to conserve
• they thought children answered the way they did because of the way the experiment was carried out
• Rose & Blank (1974): Asked only one question using 6 year olds. Conservation of number only.
Jean PIAGET and his theory
• IN SUM
• Samuel & Bryant criticised Piaget
• thought that the experimental method and the
repeated questions were DEMAND
CHARACTERISTICS
Standard conservation test
• Question 1 Are there the same number of
counters in row A & B?
A RRRRRR
B RRRRRR
child answers YES
Standard conservation test
Stage 2
• Child watches the transformation
A RRRRRR
B R R R R RR
Standard conservation test
Stage 3
• Question 2 Are there the same number of
counters in row A & B?
A RRRRRR
B R R R R RR
child answers NO
failing to conserve
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
Set up an experiment to try to demonstrate that
asking the same question twice causes
children to make errors in the standard
conservation test
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
• The participants - 252 boys & girls
• aged 5 to 8.5 years
• four groups of 63
• mean ages 5 yrs 3 mths
6 yrs 3 mths
7 yrs 3 mths
8 yrs 3 mths
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
• There is a naturalistic IV = age
• Then groups divided into 3 sub groups (21 in
each sub group)
• (1) Standard Group
• Traditional conservation task
• asked two questions
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
• (2) One Judgement Group
• Only one question asked
• AFTER the transformation
• (3) Fixed Array
• Saw only ONE display - the post transformation
one
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
• Procedure
each child given 12 separate trials
4 mass (plasticine)
4 number (counters)
4 volume (liquid)
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
In this experiment
• What are the IVs
• What is the DV
• How did S & B measure the ability to conserve
(operationalise the DV)
• Why did S & B include an unequal condition in
the pre transformation
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
mean errors for each group
age standard 1 question fixed array
5 8 7 9
6 6 4 6
7 3 3 5
8 2 1 3
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
age standard 1 question fixed array
5 8 7 9
6 6 4 6
7 3 3 5
8 2 1 3
• How did performance differ by age ?
• How did performance differ between experimental
groups ?
• Do these results support Piaget?
Samuel & Bryant (1984) Methodology ?
naturalistic experiment (IV = age)
cross sectional
experimental (IV = condition)
Independent measures (Condition used)
repeated measures (tasks)
Ecological validity ?
Participant bias - was there any?
Ethical concerns - are there any ?
Samuel & Bryant (1984)
Children’s ability to conserve
Situation vs dispositional explanation
Nature vs Nurture
What do you think?